


Silver

by Aniimone



Series: Metal [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Assassin AU, Depictions of Murder, Fluff, M/M, Modern AU, slowburn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2019-01-06 22:37:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12220347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aniimone/pseuds/Aniimone
Summary: If there was one thing Naruto didn’t expect to do on this job, it was fake his own death. Another was hunt his client with the very man the client paid him to take out. Apparently, things don't always go as planned.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yo, this is my second Naruto series, so I hope y'all enjoy.
> 
> Bi-weekly updates: Fridays and Sundays
> 
> Please check the warnings.

Naruto comes down the stairs of the hotel, adjusting his collar and looking around. He hates wearing suits. They always make him feel claustrophobic. He would rather spend his days in a comfortable V-neck and sweatpants.

Unfortunately, his profession doesn’t allow him that luxury.

Naruto often wishes he could go back in time ten years and tell his younger self that the man who would adopt him was bad news. For all Jiraiya taught him, he was still a criminal.

Naruto was a trouble maker. No one wanted him around. Then this white-haired old man came by and saw him. At the time, Naruto made a face at him and ran off, but that just prompted the strange man to ask about him. The nun told him not to bother with Naruto, but he insisted on meeting the boy. Jiraiya promised Naruto a way out. He promised to teach him how to defend himself. He promised strength.

Naruto never really wanted this kind of strength.

His target, according to his client, is a dark-haired man about Naruto’s age with pitch black eyes and pale skin. He has a reputation as the Red-Eyed Killer. People say his eyes flash red like some sort of demon right before he kills you. He goes by the name Sasuke, and Naruto has been hunting him for four months now.

Sasuke has provided Naruto with his first real challenge since he was 15. This guy covers his tracks well. Even so, one of Naruto’s informants told him Sasuke would be here tonight for the 150th Annual Konoha Charity Gala. Naruto tracked down Sasuke’s room number and has his plan, as well as his two muffled pistols, ready. Technically, he has no reason to be at the gala itself, but Naruto is a sucker for parties.

He takes a glass of champagne off a tray being carried around by a waiter and starts to walk around. He sees a girl with pink hair and frowns. She feels familiar. In any case, she’s gorgeous. Naruto approaches her with a smile, grabbing another glass off another server’s tray. He strides up to the woman and offers her a drink.

“Good evening, m’lady,” he greets smoothly, giving her one of his signature smiles.

She smiles back politely and takes the glass from him, but doesn’t drink. Cautious. Good.

“May I ask your name?” Naruto asks.

“May I do the same, kind sir?” she replies.

Naruto’s smile widens. He likes her.

“I’m Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki,” he greets, extending his hand.

She shakes it.

“Sakura Haruno,” she tells him.

They let their hands fall.

“So, did you come here with anyone?” Naruto asks, quirking an eyebrow at her.

“Maybe. Why do you want to know?” she replies, raising her eyebrow right back.

“You seem like a nice girl,” he admits, tilting his head slightly.

“A pretty face can hide a lot of secrets,” she retorts.

“Touche,” he says, tilting his glass.

She clinks hers against it and they drink at the same time.

“I feel like I’ve met you somewhere before,” Naruto admits.

“Yes,” she replies, nodding once. “I believe it was in Paris, seven years ago.”

Naruto frowns, humming while he tries to remember. Suddenly, a lightbulb goes off in his mind and he snaps his fingers.

“Ah! That’s right,” he replies. “Oh. Well, at least I have one less secret to keep from you, then.”

Her smile widens slightly.

_It was a moonless night. Naruto was on a job. He had a client in England who wanted him to go after a politician in Paris. He got there seconds before a woman in dark U.S. military gear with pink hair pulled the trigger. The man’s body jerked and he went limp in his office chair. The woman made eye contact for a moment before she disappeared through the window._

“Who are you here with?” she asks.

“Nobody,” he replies, looking away and scanning the crowd.

She hums.

“What about you?” he questions.

“I came with an old childhood friend. Here he is,” she says.

Naruto follows her gaze and his heart sinks, because walking towards them now is a man with dark hair, handsome looks, and unmistakable dark eyes. He looks good in a suit, Naruto will admit. It fits him well, obviously tailored, and he wears it with confidence. Arrogance, almost. Something about him ticks Naruto off.

Sasuke comes up and wraps his arm around Sakura’s waist, pulling her into his side and staring Naruto down.

“Who’s this?” he asks.

“Sasuke, this is Naruto. I met him once, a long time ago,” she tells him.

Sasuke hums and looks Naruto up and down. His grip on Sakura’s waist relaxes when he deems Naruto not an immediate threat.

“What do you do for a living?” Sasuke asks.

Rule number one of being an international assassin. Always have a backstory prepared.

“I’m a research and development manager,” Naruto lies easily. “What about you?”

“Lawyer,” Sasuke replies.

Both of them look into the other’s eyes with a cold, calm, calculating expression and blatant dislike that is only betrayed in their eyes. Sakura eases the tension by putting her hand on Sasuke’s chest lightly.

“Hey, why don’t you go get me some more champagne,” she tells him.

He hums and takes her glass for her, walking away with it. Sakura sighs.

“I’m sorry Naruto, he can be a bit… cold.”

“I understand,” Naruto replies, voice devoid of emotion.

She smiles at him empathically.

“I can tell you don’t like him, but he’s not as bad as he seems,” Sakura assures him.

Naruto looks back at her and smiles kindly, his eyes growing warm again.

“I can tell what kind of person he is. There’s kindness in his heart somewhere,” Naruto tells her with a sureness that surprises her.

Sasuke returns and hands her a fresh glass of champagne. Naruto smiles at him and he frowns slightly, but right then everyone in the ballroom is quieted by a woman stepping onto the stage at the front of the room. She approaches the microphone and taps on it to draw everyone’s attention.

“Good evening,” she starts. “My name is Tsunade. Thank you all for being here tonight.”

She continues, but Naruto tunes her out. He remembers her. Jiraiya had a picture of three teenagers on his desk, and one of them was a girl who looked just like a younger version of this lady. She has obviously had some plastic surgery done, especially in the… pectoral region.

Naruto starts to think about his job. This is the first time he’s caught up to Sasuke since he started, but with Sakura at his side it will be hard to get a shot. Chances are high that Naruto is going to have to kill her, too, or else all three of them are going to end up in some sort of movie all-guns-drawn situation. Sasuke obviously knows what he’s doing. He does everything carefully and never acts frivolously. That gesture of pulling Sakura towards him was used as a tactic to make Naruto back off, as well as to establish a sense of power. A show of being untouchable. Well, Naruto will show him “untouchable”. He hasn’t spent the last four months tracking him down to be discouraged by the presence of a pretty girl. She’s a part of this world too. She can understand.

The thought crosses Naruto’s mind that Sakura might not know just who Sasuke is. If that is true, he might not be able to reason with her. If he can’t reason with her, he will probably have to kill her. Again, Naruto wishes he could go back in time.

Tsunade finishes her speech and steps down from the podium. People start moving towards the buffet tables along the wall, gathering food and sitting down at the tables scattered across the floor. Naruto sits down with Sakura and Sasuke, directly across from his dark-haired target. Tsunade sits down on Naruto’s left, to his surprise.

“You three seem like a brooding bunch,” she says. “Figured I might come lighten up the conversation.”

“That’s kind of you, but unnecessary,” Sasuke replies, unsmiling.

“Nonsense! I’m this year’s host, it’s my job to make sure everyone has a relatively fun time,” Tsunade claims.

Naruto realizes that Tsunade is already tipsy.

“So, what are your names?” she asks them.

“Naruto Uzumaki.”

“I’m Sakura Haruno.”

“Sasuke.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you. Sakura, what do you say you and I play a little game? Every time these two glare at each other like they want to kill each other, we take a drink,” Tsunade suggests.

“Deal,” Sakura answers.

Naruto and Sasuke make eye contact again. Tsunade and Sakura both take a drink. The men scowl and look at Tsunade.

“Tsunade, can I ask you something?” Naruto asks.

“Of course, brat! What is it?” she replies.

“Have you ever met a man named Jiraiya?”

She startles.

“I haven’t heard his name in a long time. How do you know him?” she asks, looking at Naruto strangely.

He chuckles and scratches the back of his neck.

“Well, that’s a long story,” he tells her. “I just wondered because he used to have a picture on his desk and you look a lot like the girl in it.”

“Is that so?” Tsunade replies, taking another drink. “Well, he and I were childhood friends. The other boy in that picture is named Orochimaru.”

Naruto doesn’t miss the way Sasuke stiffens at the mention of that name. At least Naruto does a better job of hiding his recognition.

“Those two went down… dark paths,” she admits, looking down at her glass.

“Ah,” Naruto responds.

“Let’s eat,” Sakura suggests, picking up her fork and knife.

The others follow her lead and dig in. The food is delicious. Probably some of the best Naruto has had since Paris.

After they finish eating, a quartet starts playing music and people start asking others to dance. Sasuke does the same with Sakura, shooting Naruto a glance and a smirk before they step onto the dance floor and start to waltz.

“Arrogant bastard,” Naruto mutters, drinking.

Tsunade laughs.

“Have the two of you met before?” she asks him.

“Not exactly,” he answers. “I just don’t like him. He’s so full of himself, like dating Sakura is some big achievement. Bastard. He acts like he’s invincible or something. Newsflash, asshole, nobody’s untouchable.”

Tsunade snickers and pokes him in the arm after he sets his glass down again.

“Sounds like you’re jealous,” she teases.

“What? No way. Absolutely not,” he states, turning his nose up.

“Definitely jealous. I can’t tell which one of them you like more, though,” she says.

He feels his face heat up more and blames it on the alcohol, turning to her.

“I’m not jealous! Sure, Sakura’s gorgeous, and it’s not like I can deny that Sasuke guy is pretty good-looking too, but that’s--! Shit.”

She cracks up again. He rests his head on his hand, propping his elbow on the table, and groans.

“Just great,” he mutters. “Just what I needed.”

His phone rings, temporarily saving him from further mortification, and he excuses himself to go answer it outside.

“Hello?”

“Naruto. How is the job going?” a gravelly, slow voice asks.

“Fine. Sasuke’s with another assassin so it’s not going to be easy to get close to him,” Naruto replies, making sure no one else is around.

“I see. Well, keep me updated,” Orochimaru replies.

He hangs up and Naruto does the same, pocketing his phone afterwards. He glances back into the dance hall and sighs. He decides to return to his room for now and rethink his strategy.

He walks down the hall until he reaches the elevator. He slides the key card in and steps inside. The elevator takes him up to the tenth floor and he steps out. He finds his room and enters. He throws his suit jacket over the back of the desk chair and loosens his bow tie. He looks at himself in the mirror. He used to try to smooth down his hair at formal events like this, but it usually just lifted itself back into place no matter how much gel he used, so eventually he gave up trying. The holsters at his sides were concealed under the jacket, but now they are bare and the handles of his pistols are visible, reminding him of why he is here in the first place. He crosses the room to look out the window at the city below and sighs. He puts his hands in his pockets as he watches the people and cars move below.

He never would have chosen this life for himself. Sure, it pays well, but his psychological health takes a hit every time he pulls the trigger. Jiraiya adopted him up to be an heir to his organization, since he never wanted to settle down with one of the prostitutes he always had hanging off his side. He didn’t trust his subordinates enough. He taught Naruto to fight, to detach himself from his emotions. He taught Naruto how to kill and distance himself from the rush of guilt.

Naruto stares at his reflection in the glass and sees Sasuke, all dark eyes, sexy hair, and cocky smirk.

Naruto sighs and turns away from the glass. He checks his guns and reties his bow tie. He throws his jacket back on and heads back downstairs.

In the ballroom, Naruto can’t see Sasuke on the dance floor, but Sakura is dancing with a man with short brown hair. She chuckles at something he says.

“Yo,” a deep voice says from behind Naruto.

He whirls around, one of his hands immediately going for one of his guns. He stops when he sees Sasuke, and drops his hand. Sasuke notices, arrogant smirk turning up just slightly as his eyes travel back up Naruto’s torso to his eyes.

“I see my man gave you the correct information,” Sasuke says.

“What do you mean?” Naruto asks, narrowing his eyes.

“I paid Sai to tell you I would be here,” Sasuke explains.

Naruto’s eyes widen.

“What?”

So Sai’s unconventional request for “payment” for information on Sasuke was unnecessary.

“Idiot. In this business, you should always expect to be double-crossed,” Sasuke tells him.

Naruto scowls.

“You’ve noticed that I chose a public event, and I brought a date; one who you would hesitate to kill,” Sasuke claims, nodding towards Sakura.

Naruto grinds his teeth together. Sasuke smirks again and looks at him.

“I have the upper hand here, which is why you will be the one to die tonight, Uzumaki.”

Naruto regains his composure.

“So you’ve been sent after me, too,” he says.

Sasuke nods slightly.

“I believe our clients are the same person, and I believe he wants us both dead. Or he wants one of us to kill the other, and he intends to recruit the survivor. So if we must have our little movie-style showdown, I’d rather enjoy myself first. Would you care for a dance?” Sasuke asks, offering his hand.

Naruto eyes it warily before hesitantly taking it. Sasuke leads him out onto the dance floor and they hesitate at first.

“I’ll lead,” they say simultaneously.

“No, I will,” they respond.

They glare at each other for a moment and Sasuke forces Naruto to follow him as he starts to dance.

Both of them carry themselves with a grace and self-confidence unparalleled by anyone else in the room. Before long, both of them have cleared their own section of the dance floor. There is a tension between them that is only exaggerated by the dim lighting and the knowledge of what they need to do. By the time the song ends, the dance floor is cleared of everyone besides them and a few other couples on the edges. They stop dancing and look at each other, panting lightly as they continue to stare into each other’s eyes. Applause resounds around them and they finally look away from each other to glance at the crowd. They separate and stand a few feet apart.

“I’ll see you soon, Sasuke.”

“And you, Naruto.”

They glare at each other one last time before walking away in opposite directions.

~+~+~+~+~

Naruto goes back to his room and takes a quick, cold shower to clear his mind. He has only had the equivalent of one drink tonight so far. Half a glass of champagne and another half of wine at dinner. Usually he wouldn’t drink at all on a job, but he felt like he deserved it for catching up to Sasuke, an act he now realizes might be a mistake. Plus, he couldn’t afford to blow his cover and not drinking is one of the many ways to risk that. After two more hours without any sign of his target, Naruto can’t feel the alcohol anymore. He puts his slacks and dress shirt back on, as well as his holsters after his shower. He was almost surprised that the bastard wasn’t waiting in his room when he stepped out of the bathroom.

If Sasuke is here to hunt Naruto as well, he might as well wait for the asshole to come to him. Unfortunately, Sasuke has other plans. Naruto receives a text from an unknown number.

‘Meet me on the roof. Don’t bring weapons. I am unarmed. There is a pool up here. -S’

He grits his teeth and pockets his phone. He has no reason to trust anything this guy sends, but somehow, he finds himself leaving his pistols all the same. He also leaves the knife he usually keeps tucked into his sock. He puts on swim trunks instead of the slacks he was wearing and heads up to the roof, leaving his jacket and bowtie behind as well.

When he steps out into the cool night air, he looks around. The pool is inside a greenhouse-type room, the windows fogged over. Naruto can barely make out a figure swimming laps in the water. He walks towards the greenhouse and slides his card into the slot by the door. He steps in and sees Sasuke in the water. It would be easy to shoot him there, but then he would have to deal with the body and the blood. His train of thought is cut short by Sasuke pushing himself out of the water. His dark hair is plastered to the sides of his face, but somehow he still pulls that off. His mouth is open as he breathes, and Naruto realizes how red his lips are. Then there is the entirely different problem of the rest of Sasuke’s body.

You have to be strong to do what they do. You have to be able to fight. You have to work out. So it should come as no surprise that Sasuke is well-built. However, Sasuke’s musculature is lean. His abs aren’t as pronounced as Naruto’s, but all of his muscles are there, under the skin, powerful and smooth. Naruto finds his mouth suddenly uncomfortably dry and looks back up at Sasuke’s eyes, and if he’s not mistaken, Sasuke was checking him out too. Then the bastard smirks again and Naruto’s feelings of attraction towards him disappear in an instant.

“What do you want to talk about?” Naruto asks.

Sasuke walks over to one of the chairs along the side of the room and picks up a towel. Of course he’s wearing a speedo.

Sasuke dries his hair and leaves the towel draped around his neck when he turns towards Naruto.

“You look good in something less formal,” Sasuke comments casually.

“Answer me,” Naruto snaps, glaring.

“I hate playing games,” Sasuke admits. “Especially when they’re not my own. So I have a few questions for you. Who hired you?”

“Give me one reason why I should trust you,” Naruto retorts.

“Alright, fine. I’ll start. I was hired by a man named Orochimaru four months ago, to kill you. I assume you’re in the same situation.”

Naruto eyes him for a second before giving him the smallest nod he can manage, his posture relaxing only slightly.

“As I mentioned before, he probably wants us both dead, or else he plans to permanently hire whichever one of us wins,” Sasuke says.

“Right,” Naruto replies.

“My guess is, he’s keeping tabs on us through someone in the gala. Probably Sakura,” Sasuke states.

“Isn’t she your girlfriend?” Naruto asks.

Sasuke gives him a look like he just suggested the Earth is flat.

“We came from the same hometown, and we went to elementary school together. I’m not interested in women,” Sasuke claims.

“Oh,” Naruto replies, eyes widening in surprise. “Then are you--”

 

“Don’t. That’s not what I brought you here to discuss. I want to make a proposition,” Sasuke tells him.

“What kind of proposition?” Naruto asks warily.

“I say we go after him together.”

Naruto frowns.

“Why?”

“I dislike him. No one tries to toy with me without getting bitten,” Sasuke says. “Not to mention the fact that if I take out one of the biggest names on the black market, no one is going to have the guts to come after me, even if they can find me.”

Naruto nods understandingly.

“He’s going to run before we find him. Or hire more thugs to come after us,” Naruto points out.

“Not if he thinks we’re dead.”

“You’re joking.”

“Never,” Sasuke replies. “We fake our deaths. Have our little showdown in an old warehouse nearby. I know one we can use. We leave two bodies and scorch the place so badly the bodies can’t even be identified with dental records. Sakura reports to him and we walk free. No more feds on our tail for a while that way, either.”

“What are you saying? We’ll have to kill two people to make that work.”

“So you’re considering it.”

“Now hold on a second. Why should I trust you not to just turn on me somewhere down the line?” Naruto asks.

“You can’t, but I can’t trust you not to do the same,” Sasuke replies. “So what do you say?”

Naruto scowls, thinking hard. There has been a detective closing in on him recently. Sasuke’s plan is a good one.

“Do you know where Orochimaru is located?” Naruto asks.

“No.”

“Good. Then I’m one step ahead of you,” Naruto replies, unbuttoning his shirt.

“What the hell are you doing?” Sasuke asks him.

“Going for a swim,” Naruto says, kicking off his shoes and socks, which leaves him in his swim trunks right before he dives into the pool.

He surfaces and grins up at Sasuke, who rolls his eyes and puts his towel back down before he jumps back into the water with him. He comes up for air and Naruto splashes him, laughing. Sasuke scowls and splashes him back. It quickly turns into an all-out war that ends when Sasuke holds Naruto’s head underwater for thirty seconds.

Naruto comes up to the surface and gasps, Sasuke smirking at him.

“I’ve made up my mind. Let’s do it. I just have one requirement,” Naruto says.

“Name it.”

“You don’t get to know where Orochimaru is until the night we plan our attack. Understood?”

“Fine. If it helps you sleep at night,” Sasuke replies.

Naruto nods, satisfied.

He extends his hand underwater. Sasuke shakes it and they nod to each other.

“So, do you mind telling me how you got into the business?” Naruto asks with a grin, climbing out of the pool and walking over to dip into the hot tub.

Sasuke follows him and sits down across from him.

“For fun,” he claims.

“Come on bastard, nobody’s a hit man for fun,” Naruto retorts.

Sasuke says nothing.

“Come on, tell me why. If we’re going to do this at least let me get to know you,” Naruto prompts.

“Haven’t you done jobs with people you didn’t know before?” Sasuke asks.

“Not really, no,” Naruto replies.

Sasuke frowns.

“It’s sort of like the family business,” he claims.

Naruto frowns. Then the pieces start to click. That dark hair, those black eyes, that pale skin…

“You’re an Uchiha!” he gasps, pointing.

“Well noticed, usuratonkachi,” Sasuke retorts. “What about you?”

“Huh?”

“Who dragged you into it?” Sasuke asks.

“Oh. Old man Jiraiya did. He was the leader of Akatsuki, the mercenary gang,” Naruto answers. “He adopted me when I was twelve, raised me to take over for him when he died. Too bad for him, the guy who killed him wasn’t me.”

“Why is that unfortunate?” Sasuke asks.

“It was his right-hand man, Nagato. He was a few years older than me, but he was always jealous of the way Jiraiya treated me. One day he killed the old man and threatened to do the same to me if I tried to overthrow him,” Naruto admits.

“Did you?”

“What? No way. I never wanted to live like that. I told Nagato to keep the job. I just kept taking contracts for Akatsuki,” Naruto tells him. “I never went to a real highschool and my skills were limited to killing and strategic planning, so my choices at 15 were pretty much either lie about my age and join the army, become a sex worker, or keep doing this.”

“You would have made a decent prostitute,” Sasuke comments, looking down at his torso again.

“Perv,” Naruto retorts.

Sasuke shrugs slightly.

“I am merely appreciating a work of art,” he says.

Naruto snorts.

“Do you always flirt with your partners or is this exclusive to me?” he asks.

Sasuke’s eyes flick back up to meet his and there is that smug smirk again.

“You might be annoying, but you’re my type,” Sasuke says.

“Hey! Annoying?!” Naruto snaps.

Sasuke’s eyes narrow slightly and the corner of his mouth tilts up higher.

“Annoying and slow, apparently,” he comments.

“Oh, I’ll show you slow,” Naruto mutters, reaching for where his gun would be if he were wearing his holsters.

He freezes when he realizes that he is practically naked. In a hot tub. With a man who was his enemy when he first walked in here. Sasuke snorts, amused.

“Proving my point,” Sasuke says.

Naruto pulls his fist back and lunges towards Sasuke. Sasuke grabs his arm and twists him around with his wrist between his shoulder blades, restraining him painfully.

“Ouch, let me go, you bastard!” Naruto tells him.

Sasuke obliges and Naruto falls into the water face-first. He comes up spluttering.

“I hate you,” he tells Sasuke, glaring.

Sasuke raises his eyebrows at him.

“Strong words, Uzumaki.”

“The name’s Naruto, asshole.”

Sasuke smirks again.

“ _Naruto_ ,” he repeats smoothly, eyes even darker than usual.

Naruto feels goosebumps rise on his skin and scowls. Nobody should have this kind of power over him. Nobody ever has.

“You piss me off,” he tells Sasuke.

“Not enough for you to leave,” Sasuke notes.

“Shut up. So, when are we going to do this?” Naruto asks.

“We need two bodies. Similar builds to us,” Sasuke says. “Then we’re ready.”

“The sooner, the better. If you’re right and Sakura really is keeping tabs on us for Orochimaru, then the longer we wait, the more we risk him finding out about our plan,” Naruto says.

Sasuke nods.

“I know a local funeral home director. He might be able to help us out,” Sasuke says.

“Let’s go see him,” Naruto replies, getting out of the hot tub.

“What, now?!”

“Yes,” Naruto says, borrowing Sasuke’s towel. “I’ll go change and meet you in the lobby.”

“Alright,” Sasuke mutters, climbing out as well.

Naruto throws Sasuke’s towel back to him and grabs his shirt and shoes, giving a wave and a small smile before he leaves. Sasuke grabs the rest of his stuff, wraps the towel around his waist, and follows Naruto.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't get me wrong, I love Jiraiya. I just made him out as what he is in this for the sake of the plot. Same with Naruto and Sasuke.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy October! It's Hallowthanksmas season!

Naruto and Sasuke catch a taxi to the funeral home late at night, earning a strange glance from the driver. Sasuke pays him with an extra tip to “forget” about the two of them and Naruto flashes his holsters casually for effect. The driver gulps, accepting the money and nodding vigorously. The two of them get out of the cab and it drives away quickly. They adjust their suits and step up to the door. A light is still on in one of the side rooms. Naruto knocks on the oak door. Two minutes later, a pale man with long white hair pulled back in a ponytail wearing thick round glasses opens it with a grin.

“Sasuke. What can I do for you and your… friend?”

“Kabuto. I’d like to call in that favor you owe me,” Sasuke says, pushing past him.

Naruto follows Sasuke down the hall, giving the man a glance as he passes him. Kabuto closes the door behind them and leads them into a back room.

“Really getting some necrophiliac vibes from this guy,” Naruto murmurs to Sasuke.

“Just let me do the talking,” Sasuke responds.

Kabuto takes them into a small office, sitting down on one side and gesturing to the two chairs opposite. Various jars are scattered throughout the room holding objects suspended in murky liquid.

“So, what do you need?” Kabuto asks, clasping his hands on top of his desk.

“Two bodies. Similar stature to the two of us. And we need you to keep your mouth shut. Understood?” Sasuke tells him.

Kabuto licks his lips and nods.

“Finally decided to fake your death then, Sasuke-kun,” he comments.

“‘-Kun’?” Naruto asks, looking at Sasuke with an eyebrow raised.

Sasuke sighs.

“Shut up, usuratonkachi,” he replies.

Kabuto’s creepy grin widens and he turns his gaze to Naruto.

“Who are you?” he asks.

“Minato Namikaze,” Naruto says.

“Ah. Well then, Minato and Sasuke. You’re in luck. I have two young men like yourselves ready for cremation already. When would you like this to be arranged?” Kabuto asks.

“As soon as you can. We need the bodies transported to a warehouse in the Red district,” Sasuke tells him.

“Their funerals are supposed to take place tomorrow. Would you like to do it tonight?” Kabuto asks.

Sasuke nods.

“Very well. You two wouldn’t mind helping me get the bodies into the hearse, would you?”

The assassins glance at each other, then back at Kabuto.

“No,” Sasuke answers.

~+~+~+~+~

Forty minutes later, Naruto and Sasuke are standing alone in a warehouse with the corpses already across from each other, one of them stabbed through the heart and the other shot in the lung. Naruto (reluctantly) left one of his guns in the hand of the stabbed body. Sasuke made sure that the knife he used was one of his signature kunai with the Uchiha crest engraved on the blade. They finish spreading the gasoline over the bodies and Sasuke drops a match onto them. Both of them cover their noses and step back to avoid getting the smell of burning flesh on their clothes. Once the bodies are halfway charred, Sasuke and Naruto leave the warehouse. Naruto takes aim from the entrance and shoots a hole in one of the propane tanks against the wall. He and Sasuke run away as fast as they can before the warehouse fills with gas and the explosion sets off. They make it to the main street by the time it does, flames arcing into the night sky, smoke blocking out the stars.

Somehow when they were running they started holding hands, and now they keep doing so as they walk down the street, laughing and feeling the adrenaline pumping through them. They make eye contact and for a second both their eyes soften. They can see all the suffering they have both endured in their lives, usually buried under multiple layers of arrogance in Sasuke’s case, and humor in Naruto’s. Then their walls are back up and they look away.

“So, uh, I guess we’re dead now,” Naruto says.

“Yeah,” Sasuke breathes. “What do we do now?”

“We find a motel to stay in for the night. I’ll book us a flight. You left your phone with the body, right?” Naruto asks.

“Obviously. So did you,” Sasuke retorts.

“Okay, okay. We have to get out of town before Sakura. That means boarding the soonest flight we can,” Naruto says.

“Right. I’ll transfer some money into your account to use,” Sasuke tells him.

“How?” Naruto asks him, arching an eyebrow. “No phone, bastard.”

“Shit,” Sasuke hisses. “First things first; new phones.”

“Alright,” Naruto replies. “We can do that tomorrow morning. For now, let’s go grab some drinks and celebrate the success of the first part of our plan.”

Sasuke smirks and calls him useless again. Naruto just laughs and lets go of Sasuke’s hand to wrap his arm around his shoulders, steering him towards the nearest non-dingy bar. They sit down at the counter and order two glasses of whiskey. They raise their glasses to each other, smiling slightly.

“To freedom,” Naruto says.

Sasuke inclines his head slightly and they toast. Then they knock the drinks down and feel it burn its way down their throats.

“God, what time is it?” Naruto asks, suddenly realizing how exhausted he feels.

“About four am,” the bartender replies.

They finally look around them. The bar is empty except for a group of college students slurring drunkenly at a booth against the wall, and an old man who might be asleep sitting at his table.

Naruto looks back at Sasuke and giggles.

“One day,” he says.

“What?” Sasuke asks.

“One day. Get new phones, book a flight, and get the hell out of here,” Naruto tells him.

“You’re exhausted,” Sasuke says.

Naruto shrugs.

“You look like hell.”

“We just survived hell,” Sasuke retorts.

“Not really,” Naruto tells him, grinning and giving him a wink.

Sasuke rolls his eyes and sighs.

“You’re annoying,” he mutters.

Naruto chuckles again and they ask the bartender for another round.

They leave at dawn, stumble to a hotel, book a room under the name Zetsu Black, and pass out in their separate queen beds.

Sasuke wakes up at two in the afternoon and chucks a shoe at Naruto to get him to snap awake. Naruto grumbles and complains at first, but then they put their wrinkled clothes back on and head out. Their first stop is for food. They buy sandwiches at a local sub shop and then go out shopping. When they left the original hotel, they only brought their clothes, weapons, wallets, and phones. Their phones are now destroyed, but they buy some clothes first.

They head back to the hotel room and change. Sasuke turns on the news and both of them are only slightly surprised to see the still-smoldering warehouse on display from a helicopter.

“-bodies of two young men were found inside, one shot in the lung and the other stabbed through the heart. The police have yet to release any official information, but one detective believes them to be a pair of international assassins, who killed each other in some sort of Hollywood showdown. The police refused to release their names. The cause of the explosion was reported as a gas leak, but we await further confirmation on this report. Back to you, John,” the newswoman states.

Sasuke and Naruto exchange a glance, Naruto wearing sweatpants and Sasuke in designer jeans and a tank top. Sasuke shuts the TV off.

“Wow,” Naruto says.

He chuckles breathlessly.

“I can’t believe we pulled it off,” Sasuke almost whispers.

“It’s kind of surreal,” Naruto admits.

“I wonder if we can really quit. After we take down Orochimaru, that is,” Sasuke says.

“What are we going to do then? I did highschool online,” Naruto says. “It’s not like I had time to go to college.”

“Same here,” Sasuke admits. “I guess we could use the money we have to do that? Or we could just find someplace to settle down.”

“Like that could be any fun. Let’s go to school,” Naruto says. “I always wanted to help people. Maybe I can be a nurse or something.”

He laughs and lies down on his bed.

“Ironic that an assassin is saying that,” Sasuke tells him.

“Hey, I told you I didn’t want to live this life,” Naruto replies. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” Sasuke admits. “Being a lawyer seems interesting. Defense attorney, maybe?”

“I think you’d be good at it,” Naruto tells him.

Sasuke smiles softly.

“You think so?”

“Yeah. You've got the whole emotionless-mask thing down already,” Naruto comments, grinning.

Sasuke chucks a pillow at him and tells him to put on a shirt. Laughing, Naruto pulls on a white t-shirt with the word “orange” above a picture of an orange. Then they head back out to get new phones. They eat out again. Naruto starts to look for flights when they return to their room.

“Let’s head to Japan,” Sasuke suggests.

“I’m gonna guess you’ve got some sort of hideout there,” Naruto replies, typing “Japan” into the departure search bar.

“Yes,” Sasuke replies. “Get us flights into Tokyo.”

“Alright. Two tickets booked business class to Tokyo from Boston. That’s 1,500 U.S. dollars for each of us,” Naruto says.

“I’ll pay for it,” Sasuke says. “I’m the one who is insisting on flying there.”

“Alright,” Naruto replies.

Sasuke takes Naruto’s seat in front of their room computer and types in his credit card information, again under the name Zetsu Black.

When the payments are made, the system sends them both a copy of the receipt along with the code for their boarding passes. Naruto and Sasuke each screenshot theirs and pack up their new clothes in the two backpacks they bought earlier, putting their weapons in a separate suitcase with padding so they can’t be jostled around or discovered. Naruto puts on a baseball cap to hide his face a little and Sasuke wears a dark grey hoodie. Then they leave the room and catch a taxi to the airport. Their flight leaves at ten that evening, and they get to the airport at eight-thirty. The two assassins pass through security with ease. When they get to the gate, they sit down to wait for their boarding group to be called.

The news is on the TV over the gate. The anchorman thanks the weatherman and starts talking about the warehouse explosion.

“We have received more information on the recent explosion at warehouse 27 in the Red district. The two bodies found inside are too damaged to check their dental records, but one woman has stepped forward to identify them as the world class assassins, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. The Uchiha name is well-known on the black market. No one knows anything about them, and their online presence is nonexistent. Now to Jessica, who is on the scene with the young woman who identified them.”

The woman from earlier appears on-screen, holding a microphone in front of her. On her side is Sakura, wearing large round sunglasses and a grim expression.

“Thank you John. Ms. Haruno, would you care to tell us your relation to these two men?”

“I was an undercover FBI agent sent to bring those two into custody,” she admits.

Naruto’s eyes widen slightly and his mouth drops open.

“Uchiha invited me to be his date for the annual Konoha Charity Gala, and I knew he had something planned. We went to elementary school together a long time ago. Uzumaki showed up and I figured the two of them both had a job to eliminate each other. I’m not sure who their bosses were yet, but we’re working on it. Taking Uzumaki’s words from yesterday, ‘Nobody’s untouchable,’” Sakura says.

Naruto and Sasuke make eye contact. The newswoman thanks Sakura and keeps talking, but they tune her out and get up, walking to a secluded section to talk.

“So she wasn’t working for Orochimaru,” Naruto murmurs.

“Don’t trust what she said,” Sasuke warns.

“No, seven years ago I met her while I was on a job,” Naruto explains. “She was wearing military-grade gear with the FBI label on her sleeve. I didn’t think much of it at the time because a lot of people like us have gear they sneak from official companies, but she wouldn’t have stuck with the cover story this long,” Naruto says.

Sasuke nods.

“In any case, we can’t use each other’s real name until we’re out of the Tokyo airport. Call me Zetsu today,” Sasuke tells Naruto.

Naruto snorts.

“How about I call you bastard and you call me the man of your dreams.”

“Dobe, no way in hell,” Sasuke retorts.

“Fine, bastard.”

“Usuratonkachi.”

They glare at each other.

The concierge at the desk for their flight calls for disabled people and anyone with children under the age of four. The two of them end their staring contest. First class boards next, followed by business. They step onto the plane and stuff their backpacks under the seats in front of them. They got seats next to each other on this flight. Naruto gets ready to sleep once the plane starts to taxi out of the gate. Sasuke starts watching a movie on the screen in front of him. The woman on the window seat beside Sasuke keeps looking over at him.

After Sasuke’s movie ends and he takes out a book to read, she touches his arm lightly. He looks at her.

“Excuse me,” she says. “You remind me of my first husband.”

Sasuke frowns slightly. She only looks to be in her mid-twenties.

“How many times have you been married?” he asks.

“None,” she answers, smiling.

Sasuke hums and opens his book. Her smile falls.

“I’m Katherine,” she introduces.

He ignores her. She clears her throat and pushes her glasses up.

“So what do you do for a living?” she asks.

“Defense attorney,” he lies easily.

“Really? And is he… your business partner?” she asks, pointing to Naruto.

Sasuke glances at him out of the corner of his eye and smirks.

“Actually, he’s just my partner,” he tells the woman.

She startles and notices the amused way he looks at Naruto. She blushes and mutters an apology, turning away.

He goes back to reading his book. By midnight, most of the people on the flight are asleep. Sasuke glances past her out to the Atlantic ocean and closes his book. He tucks it into the pocket of the seat in front of him and settles down to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry about Kabuto.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bye bye Orochimaru

Naruto and Sasuke’s plane lands in Haneda Airport at 11:30 am Boston time, which is 12:30 pm Japan time. The two of them grab their backpacks and step off the plane. Naruto draws a few curious glances with his blonde hair and American build, but Sasuke’s glare puts off any roaming eyes. They pick up their checked bag and leave the airport, before taking a taxi to the train station and catching a trip to Yamanashi Prefecture. From there, they catch another taxi to the outskirts of the small city of Chuo and walk up a long stone path to a beautiful traditional-style home. Sasuke slides the door aside and starts to take off his shoes in the entryway. Naruto closes the door and follows his example.

“This is a nice place,” Naruto comments, looking around as Sasuke leads him through the house.

“It’s my family’s base, of sorts. The locals think it’s haunted so no one comes in here,” Sasuke tells him as they walk into the kitchen. “Do you want some tea?”

“Sure,” Naruto replies, sitting down at the dining table.

Sasuke fills a kettle with water and sets it on the stove. He takes a jar of decaf green tea down and holds it up to Naruto, who nods. Sasuke measures some of the loose-leaf tea into a mesh basket designed to be put in the kettle.

“We’ll spend a day adjusting to the local time, and then we’ll start planning,” Sasuke says.

“Alright, dattebayo,” Naruto replies.

Sasuke pauses and looks at him, frowning slightly.

“What did you just say?” he asks.

“Ah, sorry, it’s just this thing that slips out sometimes. I can usually stop it when I’m on a job,” Naruto tells him sheepishly.

“What does it mean?” Sasuke asks.

Naruto frowns.

“I guess it doesn’t really mean anything. It’s just something I say. The closest translation would be something like ‘ya know’, I think.”

Sasuke hums.

The tea kettle starts to whistle and he turns off the heat, setting in the basket to steep. He takes two mugs down from the cabinet and brings them over to the table. He sets one down in front of Naruto and puts the other in front of the seat opposite. Then he brings the kettle over and sets it on top of a ceramic plate in the center of the table.

“I’m going to check my guns,” Naruto says, standing up and crossing the room to lay the suitcase they left by the entrance on its side.

He picks up his two remaining pistols and their accessories and brings them back to the kitchen.

“I’m still annoyed I had to leave one of them at that warehouse,” he says.

“Usuratonkachi. We didn’t have a choice,” Sasuke reminds him.

“I know, dattebayo,” Naruto retorts.

He takes the gun apart and starts to clean it. When he finishes, he checks the bullet cartridge and puts the gun back together. He puts his holsters on and tucks the pistols into them. Then he looks up at Sasuke again, who was watching him the whole time. Now Sasuke pours them both a cup of tea and starts to drink his own.

“It’s about three in the afternoon now, isn’t it?” Naruto asks.

Sasuke hums his agreement and tells him, “After we finish this tea, I’ll show you to your room.”

“Thanks,” Naruto replies.

They sit in companionable silence for a while. Once their mugs are empty, Sasuke takes them and puts them in the sink. He dumps the used tea into the garbage and leaves the kettle on the counter. Then he tells Naruto to follow him.

They pick up their backpacks from near where their suitcase is and walk down the hall. Sasuke takes him through the living room and onto a square outdoor deck surrounding a garden. Sasuke stops in front of one set of sliding doors and pulls them open, revealing a sparsely furnished guest room, colored in beautiful creams and earth-tones. There is a large bed, a desk with a chair, a floor lamp, and a wardrobe.

“My room is next door,” Sasuke says.

Naruto thanks him and enters the room. Sasuke closes the door and Naruto puts his backpack down at the end of the bed. He hears Sasuke walk into the room next door and slide the door shut. Naruto takes off his holsters, hat, and shirt, leaving himself in sweatpants, boxers, and socks. He touches the necklace around his neck fondly. Jiraiya gave it to him a few days before he was killed.

Naruto sits on the bed and rubs a hand across his face. Orochimaru will catch wind of what happened even if he wasn’t keeping tabs on them through Sakura. That means their plan has so far gone off without any real wrenches thrown into the gears. If everything else goes according to plan, they’ll get into Orochimaru’s hideout, kill him, and free themselves.

The trickiest part will be infiltration.

Naruto knows Orochimaru hides out in various Opium dens in China. He knows which ones Orochimaru uses. How to pinpoint him without tipping him off, however… that is the tricky part.

Naruto plays solitaire at the desk until he decides to get some sleep and talk about it with Sasuke in the morning.

~+~+~+~+~

When Naruto gets up, he doesn’t see Sasuke and assumes he must still be asleep. He makes a pot of Earl Grey and finishes it. He checks the time on his new phone and frowns. It’s almost nine and Sasuke isn’t up. Naruto decides to go wake him up. He knocks on the door to Sasuke’s room and slides it open when he doesn’t receive a response. Sasuke is lying in a low bed with his long hair a mess around his head. One of his hands is tucked under his pillow and he looks more at ease than Naruto has ever seen him. He swallows and leaves the room.

It is only when he is back in the kitchen, looting the cupboards for food, when he remembers why he went into Sasuke’s room in the first place. He scowls at his own inability to handle a pretty guy and stomps back into Sasuke’s room. He allows himself a few seconds of admiring his sleeping features before he calls Sasuke’s name.

Sasuke grunts and buries his face in his pillow.

“Sasuke,” Naruto repeats firmly.

“What?!” he snaps, voice muffled by the pillow.

“Get up. It’s 9:15,” Naruto tells him.

Sasuke groans, agitated.

“Come on, bastard! I’ll drag you out of there myself if I have to,” Naruto snaps. “Look, I made tea, so if you’re not in the kitchen to get it before it goes cold, I’ll come back and shoot you in the leg.”

Sasuke finally glances at him, only turning enough to open one eye slightly.

Naruto’s eyes widen fractionally when he realizes that Sasuke’s eye is a blood red. Must be a trick of the light.

“Get out,” Sasuke tells him, voice gravelly in the morning.

Naruto gulps and leaves, closing the door behind him. The Red-Eyed Killer, huh? Naruto walks back to the kitchen and takes the kettle off the burner he had it on to keep it warm. He leans against the counter, crossing his arms, waiting for Sasuke.

He enters the kitchen ten minutes later in black sweatpants riding low on his hips, the band of his boxers showing above the waistband of the pants. His hair is a mess and his eyes are back to normal, with the addition of dark circles underneath. A line of curly black hair runs from just above his navel into the waistband of his boxers. He shoots Naruto a glare and pours himself a mug of tea. Then he leans against the island in the kitchen and rests one hand on the edge, holding his mug in the other while he continues to glare at Naruto. Naruto just smiles back at him, amused.

“You have no right to look that happy before eleven,” Sasuke tells him.

“It’s a beautiful day in a beautiful country, and I’m staying in a good-looking guy’s house while we get ready to launch an attack on one of the biggest crime lords in the world, so I’ll be as happy as I want to be, thanks,” Naruto replies cheerfully.

Sasuke grunts and takes a sip of his tea.

He lets his eyes wander down Naruto’s body for the first time since they went swimming. He realizes that was only a couple of days ago. It feels like forever. To be fair, they faked their deaths and flew halfway around the world in that time.

“We need new identities,” Naruto says. “I can use Minato Namikaze. It was my dad’s name.”

Sasuke snaps his gaze back up to Naruto’s face.

“I can use the name Kakashi Hatake. He was one of my middle school teachers,” Sasuke tells him.

“Great. Do you have that name on an ID?” Naruto asks.

Sasuke nods.

“Good. So do I. Bank account?”

“Ready. I just need to transfer cash,” Sasuke replies.

“Me too, -ttebayo.”

 

“There’s an ATM nearby. It lets you pull out up to one hundred thousand yen at a time,” Sasuke explains.

“Let’s go over there after we’ve eaten and showered and gotten ready,” Naruto suggests.

Sasuke nods and takes another sip.

“Bathroom’s through the living room,” he tells Naruto.

Naruto thanks him and leaves. He goes back to his room and picks out a casual t-shirt and tan shorts. He finds a pair of black briefs and a pair of socks and adds them to the pile of clothes. Then he takes them and walks back to the living room and walks into the room connected to it by a normal door, opening into a clean white and black bathroom. He closes the door and sets his clothes on the slate counter. He pulls a black towel out of the drawer under the sink and hangs it up on the towel rack. He turns on the water and undresses, still leaving his necklace on when he steps under the stream of the water. He uses the soaps on the shelf inside the shower. When he steps out, he dries himself off and gets dressed, making sure to tuck his smaller knife into his sock, pulling the band up to cover it. He pulls a hand through his already messy hair and leaves the room. He puts his worn clothes back into his guest room and heads back into the kitchen. He finds Sasuke sharpening a short wakizashi at the dining room table and sits down across from him.

“Not much of a gunman, are you?” Naruto asks.

“I prefer blades. They’re quieter, smoother, and don’t take such a long time to set up,” Sasuke replies. “Keep them sharp and ready.”

Naruto hums.

“I think guns get the job done quicker. Plus, you don’t have to connect your action to it as much,” he says.

“I don’t remember a single person I’ve killed,” Sasuke admits. “I dissociate. We are taught to at a young age.”

“That must be tough,” Naruto tells him.

Sasuke doesn’t reply.

The two of them spend the next few days using Sasuke’s local knowledge to prepare. Their plan ends up being to find Orochimaru’s exact location using Sai. Infiltrate the building at its least busy time, take out the guards and anyone else who gets in their way, and have Naruto restrain him while Sasuke cuts his throat open. Naruto books them a flight to Shanghai, where he knows Orochimaru is. Sasuke calls Sai and asks him to meet them in a specially chosen alley for some information. Naruto decides to let Sasuke in on their target’s location, finally deeming him trustworthy enough. Or at least connected in this enough. So now they are on a flight to China from Tokyo with backpacks full of necessities and a suitcase travelling with them loaded with weapons.

After landing and grabbing their suitcase, Sasuke and Naruto catch a taxi to take them to their hotel. They found a cheap one with nightly rates and paid for a single room with two beds before they left. When Sasuke gets a call back from Sai with Orochimaru’s location, they set their plan in motion. They waste no time in putting on their gear and sunglasses, arming themselves to the teeth, and heading out. They kill the guards of the Opium den and walk inside. The drugged patrons don’t even notice them. They march straight through using the blueprints Sai sent and find Orochimaru’s room in the back. Naruto shoots the two women hanging off his arms and quickly restrains him.

“So, you two survived after all,” Orochimaru comments, voice slimy.

“Yes,” Sasuke replies smoothly. “I’d like to tell you I don’t appreciate playing games. We’re doing this for our sake, and to free the world of the filth that you are. Once this is over, your name will mean nothing, and we will be free.”

He doesn’t give Orochimaru any time to respond. He slices his neck cleanly and watches him bleed out, choking on his own blood. Naruto keeps his body angled so the blood doesn’t spoil either of their clothes. Once the last signs of life fade from Orochimaru’s eyes, the two of them douse the body in gasoline and leave it burning as they walk away. They close the door behind them and hear the fire start to spread. They get out of the building and take off their gloves. They return to their hotel room and change into more casual clothes. Naruto hears sirens wailing in the distance and makes eye contact with Sasuke.

“Some of those addicts probably died in the fire,” Naruto comments.

“I know,” Sasuke replies. “We can’t bother thinking about that now. Our flight leaves in sixteen hours, so let’s get some rest.”

Naruto nods and goes into the bathroom to take a shower. Sasuke pours them each a glass of baijiu, a vodka-like beverage that he picked up at a local market. When Naruto comes out of the shower, Sasuke hands him one of the two cups and raises his own.

“To freedom,” he says, repeating Naruto’s own words from that fateful night that feels like it was ages ago.

“To freedom,” Naruto repeats, raising his own glass to meet Sasuke’s.

They knock back the drink at the same time and Naruto pulls a face. Sasuke winces slightly, but not as much as Naruto.

They both gasp and smack their lips once it’s down.

“Let’s go for a swim, dattebayo,” Naruto suggests.

“Alright,” Sasuke agrees.

They change separately and head to the hotel’s pool. It’s empty except for them.

“This is a lot like that night,” Naruto comments, treading water in the middle of the deep end.

“Yes,” Sasuke replies.

Naruto grins.

“I guess we can finally go to college,” he says.

Sasuke smirks.

“If we get in,” he replies.

Naruto laughs at that.

“So, where do you want to go?” he asks.

Sasuke hums, thinking about it.

“I’d like to go to the University of Tokyo,” he claims.

“Sounds fun. I want to try for Georgetown University in the U.S.A.”

“Good luck,” Sasuke tells him, actually smiling softly for the first time Naruto has seen.

Naruto beams back at him and thanks him.

They mess around in the pool for a while, talking about their plans for the rest of their lives. They agree to stay in touch in case either of them runs into trouble in the future. Then they go back to their room and change into comfortable clothes to sleep in.

“Naruto,” Sasuke says.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

Naruto stops packing up his guns and looks at Sasuke.

“For what?”

“For helping me kill him. There was a time when I never thought I could do anything besides this,” Sasuke admits, avoiding eye contact.

Naruto smiles at him kindly and stands up. He crosses the room and takes Sasuke’s hand gently. Sasuke looks him in the eye.

“I know how you feel,” Naruto tells him. “You’re welcome.”

Sasuke glances down at Naruto’s lips and licks his own. He meets Naruto’s gaze again and wonders how he never realized how blue they are. Then both of them close their eyes and tilt their heads. Their lips meet and the world disappears. All that remains is them, their lips, the heat of the other’s body, the tingling feeling where their skin is touching.

Naruto learns that Sasuke is a hesitant kisser. Sasuke learns that Naruto is a better leader than he gave him credit for.

By the time they pull away, their lips are slightly swollen and their cheeks are dusted pink, Naruto’s more so.

“When we get back to my house, you can stay for a few days, but then you should leave. Find somewhere safe in the states while you apply for college. I’ll do the same in Japan,” Sasuke says.

Naruto nods understandingly.

“Sasuke, I’m glad I didn’t kill you three weeks ago,” he claims.

Sasuke huffs a laugh and tells him, “Me too, dobe.”

Naruto chuckles and agrees with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next part of the series will be up soon! Subscribe to keep up!


End file.
